Trump makes puzzling claim about Andrew Jackson, Civil War

President Trump is taking heat for questioning why the Civil War had to be fought and suggesting President Andrew Jackson could have mediated the dispute without bloodshed. President Abraham Lincoln invoked Jackson's efforts against rebellious South Carolinians (who tried to raise an army against him) as precedent for some of his own actions during the war. Nothing in Trump's statement, however, indicates knowledge of the earlier episode, which was not part of the civil war.

I do understand that he's an admirer of Andrew Jackson, whom he regards as a populist like himself. He said, "There's no reason for this".

He dived into Civil War history after citing comparisons between his and Jackson's campaign for the presidency, describing that race as "nasty" and calling Jackson a "swashbuckler".

As any student of Jackson's career and/or person with access to Wikipedia could tell you, Andrew Jackson died in 1845, and his presidential term ended in 1837, which was a solid quarter-century before the Civil War began. Why could that one not have been worked out? Trump has called Jackson "an unbelievable figure in American history - very unique so many ways" and said that he identifies with his populist forebear. People don't ask that question, but why was there the Civil War?

On the one hand, though Andrew Jackson died in 1845 - almost two decades before the Civil War began - Trump's belief that Jackson would have prevented the war from happening, while impossible to prove, does have some connection to the real events that happened during Jackson's presidency. During that episode, SC asserted the state's right to void federal law, a preview of the Confederate view that those states could withdraw from the Union.

The federal government also, however, compromised on the tax to which SC had objected. As president, Jackson, a slaveowner, famously led the forced removal of 17,000 Cherokees across the country, which resulted in the deaths of thousands.

Jackson, who died in 1845, 16 years before the Civil War began, did in fact own approximately 150 slaves, according to the website for The Hermitage, his former plantation and occasional home in Tennessee.

1 word answer: Slavery.

And former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a Democrat, called Trump's question "an unfortunate remark". "I mean, the whole issue of land and slavery and sovereignty, it's clear". "Really intense. I get up to bed late and I get up early".

Comments

Latest Posts

Man charged with keeping neighbor in pit is held on $1M bond
Reinbolt said a police supervisor responded to the scene and two officers checked the neighborhood for Elliott, to no avail. Our news partners in Cincinnati, WLWT , is reporting that Dennis Dunn was arrested at 113 Central Avenue at 8:15 a.m.

West Bank clashes: Dozens of Palestinians injured
Stores were closed and roads empty across the West Bank, the Palestinian territory occupied by Israel for 50 years. There are approximately 6,500 Palestinians in Israeli prisons, according to Israeli human rights group B'Tselem.

United CEO says no one will be fired for dragging incident
Dao refused to give up his seat because he needed to return to Kentucky to see patients Monday, according to his lawyer. The airline previously announced it was undergoing a comprehensive review that would be completed by April 30.

Trump says China could have hacked Democratic emails
Trump also called North Korea's leader "a pretty smart cookie" for being able to hold onto power after taking over at a young age. Trump's comments come at a sensitive time for U.S. security; the day before North Korea launched a failed missile test.

Samsung's profit jumps 46 percent thanks to semiconductor
This is an increase of 3.22 trillion won ($2.85 billion), 48 percent higher than the profit for the same quarter a year before. Total revenue was roughly $4.7 billion and sent shares to a new high, up 1.5% whilst the rest of the market was down 0.3%.

Johnson scores 28, Jazz beat Clippers 105-98 to even series
The Utah Jazz defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 105-98 on Sunday evening, putting their series at two games a piece as a result. Paul can potentially carry this Clippers team to a first round win over the Utah Jazz, but even that is still up in the air.

South Dakota man claims he found mouse in Coca-Cola can
The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37. On average, analysts predict that The Coca-Cola will post $1.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BHP reports record Iron Ore production in WA
It has outperformed by 4.45% the S&P500.The move comes after 6 months negative chart setup for the $87.59 billion company. The company would have produced more iron ore if not for the impact of wet weather across the Pilbara during the period.